It was misting rain, and I was optimistic Baby
Booner would eventually chase either the doe or an interloper buck along the edge.
My tendency is to not equate success with inches, but with current quality hunting opportunities far from what they used to be, I thought my shot at the elusive
Booner may have come and gone.
However, the buck does qualify as a
Booner at the Awards level.
It was our 12th straight day of trying to manufacture a shot opportunity at Baby
Booner, a Kansas buck we have been after for four years.
And he's taken another
Booner since in the same fashion.
This part of Ohio consistently produces good numbers of Pope & Young bucks, along with enough
Booners to keep you on the edge of your seat during those long hours in a tree stand.
I was hunting with my friend and outfitter, Miles Willhite, in Kansas, and over the past several years we have been following a buck we call "Baby
Booner." I've passed on the buck twice in recent years, because we could see his potential.
You read about the world s best places for
Booner bucks in hunting mags, see them on TV shows, and argue over them with your buddies.
My next text read, "I'm not sure exactly what he is, and I don't want to be disappointed with any ground shrinkage, but I think I just shot a
Booner!" He responded with "congratulations," and told me to settle down and let him know when I found the buck.
First, if it's "a
Booner behind every tree or bust," you know right away that looking in areas that historically don't produce them is a bad idea.
In the second instance, a
Booner Montana pronghorn was involved and I wasn't laughing at all.
A
Booner could walk onto your property at any moment, out of view of your cameras.